Flat warp knitting machines



'7 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. W. H. PORTER FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES Nov; 15, 1950 Filed Jan. 23, 1956 Nov. 15, 1960 A. w. H. PORTER 2,959,948

Y FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 23, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 1/ 69 70 70 'JNl ENTOR /4//ar7 NH. Porzer Nov. 15, 1960 A. w. H. PORTER FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 23, 1956 Nov. 15, 1960 Filed Jan. 23, 1956 A. w. H. PbRTER 2,959,948 FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES Sheets-Sheet 4 Q /4//an M/f Porzer ATTORNEY INVENTOR N 1960 Y A. w. H. PORTER 2,959,948

FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES Filed Jan. 23, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 5,550 55 f' m, 5/ 58 59.7 l o I l l 15+ e2 50 Hg. (9

AV/an [4/ H. Porzer- ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1960 A. w. H. PORTER FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES 7 She ets-Sheet 6 Filed Jan. 23, 1956' II II H 44- /NVENTOP 4//gn Por-zer' A rroR/vEy' 1960 A. w. H. PORTER 2,959,948

Filed Jan.,25, 1955 FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 l n ventor Allan \/V. H. P

Unite States FLAT WARP KNITTING MACHINES Allan William Henry Porter, Burton-on-Trent, England, assignor to Hobourn-F.N.F. Limited Filed Jan. 23, 1956, Ser. No. 560,843 Claims priority, application Great Britain Feb. 4, 1955 1 Claim. CI. 66-86) tee to be knitted and thus the wider the material which the machine can knit, so the longer the bed the machine must have. The'warp beams are usually also supported from a beam which extends parallel to the bed along the whole length of the machine and which forms a part of the frame of the machine. The weight carried by this longitudinal beam is very considerable and the deflection of this beam as well as that of the bed which supports the knitting elements and the mechanism which drives them, is dependent not only on the load upon them, but on their lengths. If the bed and the longitudinal beam are supported on their foundation, at more than two points it will be necessary to line-up the supports very carefully when the machine is set in position, and this is rather a difiicult operation and likely to give rise to some inaccuracy.

The present invention provides a construction by which a flat wrap knitting machine capable of knitting material of a greater width than has previously been possible, can be supported at only two points on two feet and yet maintain the knitting elements in adequately accurate alignment. According to the invention, the bed which supports the moving knitting elements and a cross-beam which supports the warp beams at or near the centre and at each end of the machine, both extend along substantially the whole length of the machine and are carried by two feet situated at the outer points of zero slope of the cross beam when it is deflected by the static loading due to the dead-weight of the machine and the full warp beams.

This arrangement maintains the alignment of the moving knitting elements and also the alignment of the shafts which drive the knitting elements, since these also run along the whole length of the machine and are supported in bearings mounted on the bed.

In such a long machine there is also considerable tendency for such shafts to twist from end to end, thus altering the timing of the knitting elements at various points in the length of the machine. The angular twist in any part of the shafts may be reduced by arranging the main shafts to be themselves driven at intermediate points instead of at their ends. The maximum twist in any part of either shaft is reduced to a minimum if the shaft is driven at a point such that the maximum angular twist in the shaft is the same on either side of the driving point. In other words, the drive is with advantage applied at the torsional centres of the shafts.

According to a further feature of the invention, a pair of parallel shafts which drive the knitting elements are both driven at or near their mid-points through a third shaft which is driven by a motor near one end of the bed of the machine. Preferably, the third shaft is arranged immediately below the other pair of shafts which are carried side-by-side.

. An example of a knitting machine constructed according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the machine in which parts of the outer casing of the bed are broken away to show the driving shafts and the cross-beam; v I

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic end elevation showingthe main components of the machine;

Figure 3 is a cross-section through the bed of the machine showing the knitting elements and the driven shafts;

Figure 4 is a skeleton front elevation of the machine with the bed in dotted lines showing the cross beam and the structure for supporting the warp beams;

Figure 5 is a section on the line VV in Figure 4;,

Figure 6 is a-diagram showing, to an exaggerated scale,

the deflection of the cross-beam underthe dead-weight of the machine and the live-load of the full warp beams;

Figure 7 is a detailed plan from below of the main and auxiliary driving motors showing their couplings to the machine;

Figure 8 is a section to a larger scale on the line VIII-VIII in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a detailed front elevation looking'in the direction of the arrow IX in Figure 10 of a reed over which the warp threads pass on their passage from the I Figure 13 is an end elevation of a portion of the machine showing the means for connecting the take-up rollers to the power shaft.

- The main frame of the machine comprises a longitudinal bed 1 and a cross-beam 2 extending parallel to the bed which, together with the bed, is supported on two feet 3. Two pillars 4, 5 extend upwards from each end of the cross-beam 2 and an intermediate pillar 6 extends upwards from the centre of the cross-beam for supporting the warp beams 7 and 7a. The pillars 4, 5 and 6 are all rigidly connected to the cross-beam by brackets 8, 8a and are each laterally supported in one direction by a link 9 which is fixed to the pillar by a pin joint 10 and to brackets 11 which extend upwards from the bed 1 by a pin 12 and are supported in a direction at right angles by stilfening rods 12a.

As shown diagrammatically in Figure 6, the loads on the cross-beam 2 consisting of its own dead-weight and the weight of the warp beams 7 and 7a and the pillars 4, Sand 6, are approximately equivalent to a uniformlydistributed load 13 and concentrated loads 14, 15 and 16 from the loaded warp beams. The central load 15 is approximately double each of the two end loads 14 and 16. The whole vertical load from the warp beams is transmitted to the cross-beam 2 since the pin jointed links 9' which support the pillars 4, 5 and 6 laterally cannot transmit any vertical forces to the brackets 11. The two feet 3 are arranged at the two outermost points of zero slope in the cross-beam 2 under deflection which, with the system of loads which actually occur in the machine, are at approximately the quarter points of the beam 2. This positioning of the feet 3 keeps the deflection of the beam 2 under the central load 15, to a minimum.

Guide bars 17 are supported on a series of brackets '18 arranged along the length of the bed 1 (Figures 1 -and 3:)

and are oscillated by arms 19 operated through connect-' ing rods 20 by rocker arms 21 driven by double eccentrics Patente Nov. 15, 1960 i Sinkers 26 are carried on arms 27 and 28 mounted on a series of brackets 29, 30respeetively arranged along the length of the bed 1. A needle bar 31 is carried in a guide 32 which extends along and is mounted on the bed. 1, and both the sinkers 26 and the needle bar 31 are operated by further double eccentrics on the driving shafts 24, 25 through the medium of links which are not shown, but which are similar in general principle to the mechanism which drives the guidebars 17 and to the mechanism shown and described in British patent specification No. 524,969, the corresponding United States patent to which is No. 2,292,287.

The driving shafts 24, 25 extend along the whole length of the bed 1 and are driven by a third shaft 33 through toothed gear wheels 34, 35 and 43. The third shaft 33 is carried at intervals along the bed by journal bearings 36 and is driven at the right hand end of the machine, as seen in Figure l, by the main driving motor 37 of the machine or an auxiliary motor 38, as shown in Figures 2 and 13.

The machine is lubricated by a pump which draws oil from a sump 39 which is attached to the bottom of the bed 1 and which encloses the shafts 23, 25 and 33. The pump delivers the oil under pressure to the journal bearings in which the shafts 24, 25 and 33 are carried and it then drains back to the sump 39. The sump 39 is of semi-circular cross-section and has fixed to it along both sides, pairs of plates 40. Two short lengths of bar 41 and 42 are fixed horizontally between each pair of plates 40. The lower bars 41 form handles for lifting the sump and the upper bars 42 form the attachments for catches by which the sump is fixed to the bed 1. The catches each consist of a hook 44 which is pivoted to a screw-threaded bolt 45. The screw-threaded bolt 45 projects through a hole in :1 lug 46 fixed to the bed 1 adjacent the bar 41. The bolt 45 is held inposition by a knurled clamping nut 47. When the clamping nut47 is screwed up tightly, the hooks 44 are pulled upwards and they in turn pull the bars 42 upwards and hold the sump 39 tightlyagainst the under side of the bed 1.

To release the sump from the bed for inspection purposes, the knurled nuts 47 along the back of the sump are loosened and whilst the sump is held up by gripping the bars 41, the hooks 44 are swung backwards. The back of the sump 39 can then be lowered, the front remaining fixed by the front row of catches, the hooks 44 of which pivot about the bolts 45. If required, the knurled nuts along the front of the sump can also be released and the sump entirely removed from the machine.

It is very valuable to be able to turn over the knitting machine slowly both when the machine is being threaded up and also so that the knitting action of the various knitting elements can be checked. It is impossible to do this with the main driving motor 37 which normally drives the machine at 1700 cycles per minute. The auxiliary motor 38, which has an output of one quarter horse power, is therefore provided for the purpose.

As shown in Figure 7, the main driving motor 37 is fixed to the cross-beam 2 and drives the shaft 33 through a pulley 48, multiple V-belts 49 and a pulley t) fixed to the shaft 33. The auxiliary motor 38 is directly coupled to a 66 to 1 reduction gearing 51 and is carried by the housing of the reduction gearing which is fixed on the underside of the bed 1. The output shaft 52 (see Figure 8) is aligned with the end of the driving shaft 33 which carries the pulley 50. The output shaft 52 can be connected to or disconnected from the pulley 50 by means of a clutch 53.

A boss 54 is keyed onto the end of the output shaft 52, which has a screw-threaded portion 55 and carries on its forward end away from the reduction gearing 51, a ball bearing thrust collar 56. A circular plate 57 forming the driving member of the clutch is mounted on the screw-threaded portion 55. A pair of spring-loaded ball 4 pads 58 which are mounted in a frame 59 fixed at 60 onto the housing of the reduction gearing 51, bear on the outer periphery of the driving member 57 and lightly restrain it against rotation.

When the clutch 53 is disengaged, the driving member is situated at the right hand end of the screw-threaded portion 55, as seen in Figure 8, adjacent the frame 59. When the auxiliary motor 38 is started and the boss 54 is rotated by the output shaft 52, the driving member 57 being held by the ball pads 58, is screwed along the screwthreaded portion 55 of the boss 54 until it engages with the thrust collar 56 in the position shown in Figure 8. As the driving member 57 moves into this forward position, two diametrically opposite slots 60 in its face are brought into engagement with two pins 61 projecting from the face of the pulley 50 which forms the driven member of the clutch. The pins 61 are spring-loaded and as the driving member 57 moves forward, they will first engage with the front face and be depressed in their sockets62 in the pulley 50. As the driving member 57 rotates, the slots 60 will coincide with the pins 61 which are then pressed into the slots 60 so that the pulley 50 is rotated with the driving member 57.

When the main driving motor 37 is started, the pulley 50 is rotated by the multiple V-belts 49 at a greater speed than it is rotated by the reduction gear 51, consequently the driving member 57 is rotated by the pins 61 relatively to the boss 54 and is thus screwed back along the screwthreaded portion 55 until the pins 61 are disengaged from the slots 60. The auxiliary motor is then switched oif.

The sheet of warp threads 63 from the upper warp beam 7 are lead over a reed 64 and then over a tension bar 65 before passing through the guide eyes in the guide bar 17. The sheet of warp threads 66 from the lower warp beams 7a are led over a reed 67 and a tension bar 63 similar to the'reed 64 and tensionbar 65 and then through the guide eyes in the second guide bar 17. The knitted material 68a is drawn off from the knitting point by take-up rollers 69 and 69a and wound onto a batch roller 70, the take-up rollers and batch roller being continuously rotated through suitable reduction gearing from the third shaft 33 as hereinafter described.

The tension bars 65 and 68 are, as is usual, springloaded and absorb fluctuations in the tension in the warp threads 63 and 66 respectively so that the threads are unwound from the warp beams 7 and 7a at a substantially constant rate.

The reeds 64 and 67 extend parallel to the two warp beams 7 and 7a respectively and maintain the correct spacing of the warp threads along the length of the machine. A narrow smooth rail 70a is mountedbehind the reed 67 and extends along its whole length. A similar rail is mounted behind the reed 64. These rails press lightly against their respective sheets of warp threads63, 66 and largely damp out vibrations of the sheets normal to their planes between the warp beams 7 and 7a and the tension bars 65 and 68. Without the presence of the rails 70a such vibrations are liable to build up to a considerable extent due to the cyclic vibration of the tension bars 65 and 68. i i

As the warp threads are consumed, the diameter of the thread remaining on the warp beam 7 and 7a decreases and the sheets of warp threads 63 and 66 are moved downwards, in effect pivoting about the tension bars 65 and 68 respectively. 7 i

In order that the rails 70a can be made to press against the sheets of warp threads with a substantially uniform force, the reeds are arranged to be movable in adirection normal to theplane of the sheets. The mountingof one of the reeds 67 is shown in Figures 9 and 10, the mounting of the other being similar. i

The reed 67 is bolted to a backing bar 71 at intervals along its length. There is a bracket 72 fixed at each end of the bar 71. A smooth guide rod 73 and a screwthreaded operating rod 74 extend downwards from each of the brackets 72. The guide rod 73 is carried in a guide 75 and the operating rod '74 passes through a nut 76 which is rotatably mounted in the guide 75. The guide 75 at one end of the reed 67 is fixed to a bracket 77 which is bolted on to the front face of the pillar 4 and that at the other is bolted directly to the central pillar 6. An operating shaft 78 extends along the whole length of the reed 67 and is carried in bearings 79 in the guides 75.

One end of the shaft 78 projects through the bracket 77 and carries a handwheel 80 by which the shaft 78 can be rotated. The exterior of each of the nuts 76 is formed as a spiral gear pinion and a further spiral gear pinion 81 fixed on the operating shaft 78 meshes with each of the nuts 76. Thus when the handwheel 80 is turned and the operating rods 74 either screwed into or out of the nuts, the brackets 72 are lowered or raised according to the direction of rotation.

The runs 76 are both formed with the same number of teeth as each other and the pinions 81, also have equal numbers of teeth while the pitch of the threads on the two operating rods 74 are the same so that both ends of the reed 67 are moved upwards or downwards by the same amount and the reed is thus maintained in a horizontal position.

To suit different loop structures and different yarns which may be used in the machine, the tension in the material, as it is drawn off from the knitting point by the take-up rollers 69 and 69a, must be varied.

This variation is obtained, whilst maintaining the peripheral speed of the take-up rollers 69 and 69a constant, by altering the path of the knitted material as it passes around the rollers. The path shown in Figure 12a produces a pre-determined minimum tension in the material, that shown in Figure 12a the greatest tension of the four paths and those shown in Figures 12b and 12c tensions slightly greater than the minimum, and slightly less than the greatest, respectively.

The rollers 69 and 69a are driven one from the other by meshing gear wheels 82 and 83 of equal sizes fixed one to each roller but when the material follows either of the paths shown in Figures 12a and 12d the rollers 69 and 69a both rotate in the opposite senses to those in which they rotate when the material follows either of the paths shown in Figure 12b and 120. This reversal of rotation is obtained by means of the gearing shown in Figures 11 and 13. A gear wheel 84 carried by a shaft 85 is rotated in the direction of the arrow 86 by a chain and gear drive from the power shaft 33. A forked arm 87 having a slot 88 is freely mounted on the shaft 85 and carries an idler gear wheel 89 which can move radially to the wheel 84 in the slot 88. In the position shown in Figure 11 the idler wheel 89 meshes with the wheel 84 and the wheel 83 fixed to the roller 69a, the latter thus being driven in the direction of the arrow 90 and driving the wheel 82 and the roller 69 in the direction of the arrow 91. To reverse the direction of rotation of the rollers 69 and 69a the arm 87 is swung in a clockwise direction until the idler wheel 89 is brought into mesh with the wheels 84 and 82.

In the take-up device illustrated, a sprocket wheel 91 is fixed on the third shaft 33 and drives an input shaft 92 of a reversing gear box 93, mounted on the adjacent leg 3, through a chain 94 and a mating sprocket wheel 95 fixed on the shaft 92. The reversing gear box 93 is provided with an output shaft 96 which drives the shaft 85 through suitable reduction gearing 97 for operating the take-up rollers 69, 69a. Another sprocket wheel 98 is also fixed to the shaft 85, and this drives a sprocket wheel 99 on the batch roller through a chain 100.

I claim:

In a flat warp knitting machine including a frame, movable knitting elements supported from said frame, a driving motor and drive means operatively connecting said motor to said knitting elements, a fabric draw-off mechanism comprising a batch roller, a first take-up roller and a second take-up roller, and transmission means operatively connecting said batch roller to said motor to rotate said batch roller in one direction, said transmission means including a common driving shaft for said take-up rollers, the improvement which comprises a first gear wheel drivingly fixed to said first take-up roller, a second gear wheel drivingly fixed to said second take-up roller and meshing with said first gear wheel, a driving gear wheel on said common driving shaft, an idler gear wheel meshing with said driving gear wheel and a pivoted arm carrying said idler gear wheel mounted to swing around the axis of said common driving shaft, whereby said idler gear wheel can be swung between two positions, in the first of which said idler gear wheel meshes with said first gear wheel to rotate said take-up rollers in first directions and in the second of which said idler gear wheel meshes with said second gear wheel to rotate said take-up rollers in directions opposite to said first directions, so that fabric knitted by said knitting elements can be wrapped around said draw-off rollers in either order to provide at least four different angles of embrace but is always rolled on to said batch roller with the same surface outermost.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,036,874 Kinsella et al Apr. 7, 1936 2,292,287 Peel et al. 'Aug. 4, 1942 2,389,154 Kellogg et a1 Nov. 30, 1945 2,428,030 Lambach Sept. 30, 1947 2,451,498 Lambach Oct. 19, 1948 2,533,061 Sorton Dec. 5, 1950 2,604,768 Schuster July 29, 1952 2,635,443 Lambach Apr. 21, 1953 2,678,551 Lambach May 18, 1954 2,688,860 Lambach Sept. 14, 1954 2,733,583 Porter Feb. 7, 1956 2,744,398 Scheibe May 8, 1956 

